UC-NRLF 


$B    22    657 


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CITY  CHARTER 


OF  THE 


CITY  OF  LYNN 


1910 


*^»;^ 


•V 


Frank  S.  Whitten,  Printer, 

33  MuNROE  Street, 

Lynn,  Mass. 


REVISED  CHARTER 


Be  it  enacted^  etc.^  as  follows : 

Section  i  .  The  inhabitants  of  the  City  of  Lynn  shall  continue  to  be 
a  municipal  corporation,  under  the  name  of  the  City  of  Lynn,  and  as 
such  shall  have,  exercise  and  enjoy  all  the  rights,  immunities,  powers  and 
privileges,  and  shall  be  subject  to  all  the  duties,  liabilities  and  obligations 
provided  for  herein  or  otherwise  pertaining  to  or  incumbent  upon  said 
city  as  a  municipal  corporation.  In  addition  to  the  powers  above  enu- 
merated it  shall  have  the  power  to  establish,  buy,  erect,  maintain,  own, 
lease  and  regulate  whars^es  and  docks,  and  charge  wharfage  and  dockage. 

Sect.  2.  The  territory  of  the  city  shall  continue  to  be  divided  into 
seven  wards,  which  shall  retain  their  present  boundaries  until  the  same 
shall  be  changed  under  the  general  law  relating  thereto,  in  any  year  fixed 
by  law  for  a  new  division  of  wards  in  cities,  by  vote  of  the  municipal 
council  at  or  prior  to  the  making  of  such  division ;  but  the  number  of 
wards  shall  never  be  less  than  seven. 

Sect.  3.  The  government  of  the  city  and  the  general  management 
and  control  of  all  its  affairs  shall  be  vested  in  a  municipal  council,  which 
shall  be  elected  and  shall  exercise  its  powers  in  the  manner  hereinafter 
set  forth ;  except  however  that  the  general  management  and  control  of 
the  public  schools  of  the  city  and  of  the  property  pertaining  thereto, 
shall  be  vested  in  a  school  committee. 

Sect.  4.  The  municipal  council  shall  consist  of  five  members,  to  wit, 
a  mayor,  who  shall  be  the  commissioner  of  public  safety ;  a  comrnissioner 
of  finance,  a  commissioner  of  streets  and  highways,  a  commissioner  of 
water  and  water  works  and  a  commissioner  of  public  property.  The 
school  committee  shall  consist  of  the  mayor  and  four  other  members. 
All  the  above  officers  shall  be  elected  at  large  by  and  from  the  registered 
voters  for  terms  of  two  years,  unless  it  is  otherwise  provided  in  this  act. 

Election. 
Sect.  5.     The  municipal    election  shall  take  place  annually  on  the 
second  Tuesday  of  December ;   and  the  municipal  year  shall  begin  at  ten 
o'clock  in  the  forenoon  of  the  first  Monday  in  January  and  shall  continue 


until  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  of  the  first  Monday  of  the  following 
January.     Every  special  election  shall  be  held  on  a  Tuesday. 

Sect.  6.  In  the  year  nineteen  hundred  and  ten  and  in  every  second 
year  thereafter  there  shall  be  elected  at  the  annual  city  election  of  said 
city  the  mayor,  the  commissioner  of  finance,  the  commissioner  of  streets 
and  highvs^ays,  and  tvs^o  members  of  the  school  committee,  for  the  term 
of  the  tw^o  municipal  years  next  follovs^ing  said  election.  There  shall 
also  be  elected  at  said  annual  city  election  in  the  year  nineteen  hundred 
and  ten  the  commissioner  of  water  and  w^ater  works,  the  commissioner  of 
public  property  and  two  members  of  the  school  committee  for  the  munic- 
ipal year  next  following  said  election.  In  the  year  nineteen  hundred 
and  eleven  and  in  every  second  year  thereafter  there  shall  be  elected  at 
the  annual  city  election  the  commissioner  of  vsrater  and  water  works,  the 
commissioner  of  public  property  and  two  members  of  the  school  com- 
mittee, each  for  the  term  of  the  two  municipal  years  next  following  his 
election.  Except  as  aforesaid  and  as  otherwise  provided  in  this  act,  no 
city  officers  shall  be  elected  at  any  city  election.  The  above  officers 
shall  be  elected  by  and  from  the  registered  voters  of  the  city  and  may  be 
residents  of  any  part  thereof. 

Sect.  7.  On  the  third  Tuesday  preceding  every  annual  or  special 
city  election  at  which  any  officer  mentioned  in  section  four  is  to  be 
elected,  there  shall  be  held  a  preliminary  election  for  the  purpose  of 
nominating  candidates  for  such  offices  as  under  the  provisions  of  this  act 
or  of  any  act  in  amendment  thereof  are  to  be  filled  at  such  annual  or 
special  city  election.  The  notice  calling  for  the  said  preliminary  election 
shall  be  issued  at  least  forty  days  before  the  date  of  the  city  election. 
No  special  election  for  mayor  or  a  commissioner  shall  be  held  until  after 
the  expiration  of  forty  days  from  the  calling  of  the  preliminary  election, 
which  under  the  provisions  of  this  act  is  to  be  held  on  the  third  Tuesday 
preceding  such  special  election. 

Sect.  8.  At  every  preliminary  election  the  polls  shall  be  opened  at 
six  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  and  shall  not  be  closed  before  four  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  and  except  as  is  otherwise  provided  in  this  act  every  such 
preliminary  election  shall  be  called  by  the  sam.e  officers  and  held  in  the 
same  manner  as  an  annual  city  election.  The  polling  places  shall  be 
designated,  provided  and  furnished,  and  official  ballots,  special  ballots, 
ballot  boxes,  voting  lists,  specimen  ballots,  blank  forms,  apparatus  and 
supplies  shall  be  provided  for  every  such  preliminary  election,  of  the 
same  number  and  kind  and  in  the  same  manner  as  at  an  annual  city 
election,  and  the  same  election  officers  shall  officiate  as  at  an  annual  city 
election. 


Sect.  9.  Except  as  provided  in  section  sixty -three  there  shall  not  be 
printed  on  the  official  ballots  to  be  used  at  any  annual  or  special  city 
election  of  said  city  the  name  of  any  person  as  a  candidate  for  mayor, 
commissioner  or  member  of  the  school  committee,  unless  such  person 
shall  have  been  nominated  for  such  office  at  a  preliminary  election  held 
as  provided  in  this  act.  There  shall  not  be  printed  on  the  official  ballots 
to  be  used  at  a  preliminary  election  the  name  of  any  person  as  a  candi- 
date for  nomination  unless  such  person  shall  have  filed  within  the  time 
set  forth  in  section  ten  of  this  act  the  statement  of  the  candidate  and  also 
the  petition  described  in  section  ten.  Beginning  v^'ith  the  current  year 
political  committees  in  the  City  of  Lynn  shall  be  elected  at  the  state 
primaries  instead  of  at  the  municipal  primaries. 

Sect.  10.  Any  person  eligible  for  any  elective  office  for  which  pro- 
vision is  made  herein,  may  have  his  name  printed  as  candidate  for  such 
office  on  the  official  ballots  to  be  used  at  a  preliminary  election,  provided 
that  he  shall,  at  least  ten  days  before  such  preliminary  election,  file  with 
the  city  clerk  a  statement  in  writing  of  his  candidacy,  in  substantially  the 
following  form. 

Statement  of  Candidate. 

I, ,  on  oath  declare  that  I  reside  at  No 

street,  in  the  City  of  Lynn ;  that  I  am  a  voter  in  said  city  registered  to 
vote  for  a  candidate  for  the  office  hereinafter  named,  that  I  am  a  candi- 
date for   nomination  for   the   office   of for  the  term  of 

years  to  be  voted  for  at  the  preliminary  election  to  be  held  on 

Tuesday,    the day  of 19      ;    and   I    request   that 

my  name  be  printed  as  a  candidate  for  such  office  on  the  official  ballots 
to  be  used  at  such  preliminary  election. 

(Signed)    

COMMONWEALTH    OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 
Essex  ss. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  this  ....  day  of 19  .   .   .  before 

me, 

Justice  of  the  Peace. 

(or  Notary  Public.) 

and  provided  that  he  shall  at  the  same  time  file  therewith  a  petition  of  at 
least  twenty-five  voters  of  the  city  registered  to  vote  for  a  candidate  for 
'said  office,  which  petition  shall  be  in  substantially  the  following  form  : 


Petition  Accompanying  Statement  of  Candidate. 

Whereas is  a  candidate  for  nomination  for  the  office 

of for  the  term  of years,  we,  the  undersigned 

voters  of  the  City  of  Lynn,  duly  registered  to  vote  for  a  candidate  for 

said  office,  do  hereby  request  that  the  name  of  said be 

printed  on  the  official  ballots  to  be  used  at  the  preliminary  election  to  be 
held  on  the Tuesday  of 19  .   . 

We  further  state  that  we  believe  him  to  be  of  good  moral  character, 
and  qualified  to  perform  the  duties  of  the  office. 

Name  of  voters.  Street  No.  Street,  if  any. 

No  acceptance  by  a  candidate  for  nomination  named  in  such  petition 
shall  be  necessary  for  its  validity  or  for  its  filing,  and  the  petition  need 
not  be  sworn  to. 

Sect.  ii.  Women  who  are  qualified  to  vote  for  members  of  the 
school  committee  may  be  candidates  for  nomination  for  that  office  are  to 
be  voted  for ;  and  at  such  preliminary  election  they  may  vote  for  candi- 
dates for  nomination  for  that  office.  They  shall  file  the  hereinbefore 
described  statement  and  petition  in  all  cases  where  the  same  are  herein 
required  to  be  filed  by  male  candidates  for  that  office. 

Sect.  12.  On  the  first  day,  not  being  Sunday,  or  a  legal  holiday, 
following  the  expiration  of  the  time  for  filing  the  above  described  state- 
ments and  petitions,  the  city  clerk  shall  cause  to  be  published  in  one  or 
more  daily  newspapers  of  said  city,  the  names  and  residences  of  the  can- 
didates for  nomination  who  have  duly  filed  the  above  mentioned  state- 
ments and  petitions,  and  the  offices  and  terms  for  which  they  are 
candidates,  as  they  are  to  appear  on  the  official  ballots  at  the  preliminary 
election.  Thereupon  the  city  clerk  shall  prepare  and  cause  to  be  printed 
the  ballots  to  be  used  at  such  preliminary  election ;  and  the  ballots  so 
prepared  shall  be  the  official  ballots  and  the  only  ballots  that  may  be 
used  at  such  preliminary  election.  They  shall  be  substantially  as  out- 
lined below  : 

Official  Preliminary  Ballot. 
Municipal   Council, 

For  mayor. 

For  commissioner  of  finance. 

For  commissioner  of  streets  and  highways. 

For  commissioner  of  water  and  water  works. 

For  commissioner  of  public  property. 

School   Committee, 

Sect.  13.  The  name  of  every  person  who  has  filed  a  statement  and 
petition  as  aforesaid,  and  his  residence  and  the  title  and  term  of  the 
office  for  which  he  is  a  candidate,  shall  be  printed  on  said  ballots,  and 


the  names  of  no  other  candidates  shall  be  printed  thereon.  Ballots  for 
use  at  the  said  election  and  for  use  by  women  qualified  to  vote  for  mem- 
bers of  the  school  committee  shall  be  prepared  and  furnished  in  the 
manner  now  provided  by  law. 

Party  Designations  Abolished. 
Sect.  14.  No  ballots  used  at  any  annual  or  special  city  election,  or 
at  any  preliminary  election  shall  have  printed  thereon  any  party  or 
political  designation  or  mark ;  and  there  shall  not  be  appended  to  the 
name  of  any  candidate  any  party  or  political  designation  or  mark,  or 
anything  showing  how  he  was  nominated,  or  indicating  his  views  or 
opinions.  On  all  ballots  to  be  used  at  annual  or  special  city  elections, 
or  at  preliminary  elections,  blank  spaces  shall  be  left  at  the  end  of  each 
list  of  candidates  for  the  different  offices  equal  to  the  number  to  be  elected 
thereto,  in  which  the  voter  may  insert  the  name  of  any  person  not  printed 
on  the  ballot  for  whom  he  desires  to  vote  for  such  office,  provided  that 
such  person  is  eligible  for  such  office. 

Sect.  15.  The  qualifications  for  voting  at  a  preliminary  election  and 
at  a  city  election  shall  be  the  same. 

Sect.  16.  The  election  officers  shall  immediately  upon  the  closing  of 
the  polls  at  preliminary  elections  count  the  ballots  and  ascertain  the 
number  of  votes  cast  in  the  polling  places  where  they  respectively  offici- 
ate for  each  person  for  nomination  for  the  office  for  which  he  was  a 
candidate ;  and  they  shall  forthwith  make  returns  thereof  to  the  city 
clerk  upon  blank  forms  to  be  furnished  to  them  as  in  city  elections. 

Sect.  17.  On  the  first  day,  not  being  Sunday  or  a  legal  holiday, 
following  such  preliminary  election,  the  city  clerk  shall  canvass  said 
returns  so  received  from  the  election  officers,  shall  forthwith  determine 
the  results  of  said  canvass,  and  shall  forthwith  cause  the  same  to  be 
published  in  one  or  more  daily  newspapers  of  said  city. 

Nominations. 
Sect.  18.  The  two  persons  receiving  at  a  preliminary  election  the 
highest  and  second  highest  number  of  votes,  respectively,  for  any  office 
shall  be  the  candidates  whose  names  shall  be  printed  on  the  official 
ballots  to  be  used  at  the  annual  or  special  city  election  for  which  such 
preliminary  election  was  held ;  except  that  in  case  two  or  more  persons 
receive  the  same  number  of  votes  and  more  votes  than  any  other  person 
for  the  same  office,  then  said  persons  shall  be  the  candidates  as  aforesaid 
whose  names  shall  be  printed  on  said  official  ballots.  If  two  or  more 
persons  are  to  be  elected  to  the  same  office  at  such  annual  or  special  city 
election,  the  several  persons  to  a  number  equal  to  twice  the  number  so  to 


8 

be  elected  to  such  office  receiving  at  said  preliminary  election  the  highest 
number  of  votes,  the  second  highest  number  of  votes,  and  so  on  to  the 
number  to  be  nominated,  shall  be  the  candidates  vs^hose  names  shall  be 
printed  on  the  official  ballots  to  be  used  at  such  annual  or  special  city- 
election.  If,  in  order  to  obtain  the  requisite  number  of  candidates  for 
any  office,  it  becomes  necessary  to  take  one  of  two  or  more  persons 
having  the  same  number  of  votes  for  the  same  office,  then  the  names  of 
all  the  aforesaid  persons  having  the  same  number  of  votes  for  such  office 
shall  be  printed  on  the  official  ballot  to  be  used  at  such  annual  or  special 
city  election,  together  with  the  names  of  all  persons,  if  any,  receiving  a 
higher  number  of  votes  for  such  office,  even  though  it  makes  the  number 
of  candidates  more  than  twice  the  number  to  be  chosen  to  such  office. 
No  names  of  candidates  shall  be  printed  on  said  official  ballots  except  as 
provided  in  this  section  and  in  section  sixty- three. 

Sect.  19.  No  acceptance  of  a  nomination  made  at  a  preliminary 
election  shall  be  necessary  for  the  validity  of  such  nomination. 

Elections. 

Sect.  20.  At  a  city  election  other  than  the  above  described  prelimi- 
nary election,  the  person  receiving  the  highest  number  of  votes  for  an 
office  shall  be  deemed  and  declared  elected  to  such  office ;  and  if  two  or 
more  persons  are  to  be  elected  to  the  same  office  the  several  persons 
receiving,  respectively,  the  highest  number  of  votes,  the  second  highest, 
and  so  on  to  the  number  to  be  chosen  to  such  office,  shall  be  deemed  and 
declared  to  be  elected ;  but  persons  receiving  the  same  number  of  votes 
shall  not  be  deemed  to  be  elected  if  thereby  a  greater  number  would  be 
elected  than  are  by  law  to  be  chosen. 

Sect.  21.  The  laws  of  the  commonwealth  relating  to  annual  city 
elections,  special  elections  of  city  officers,  special  elections  in  cities, 
election  officers,  voting  places  for  elections,  election  apparatus  and 
blanks,  calling  and  conduct  of  elections,  manner  of  voting  at  elections, 
counting  and  recounting  of  votes  at  elections,  corrupt  practices  and  pen- 
alties shall  apply  to  all  elections  under  this  act  including  preliminary 
elections,  except  as  is  otherwise  provided,  herein. 

General  Meetings  of  Voters. 

Sect.  22.  General  meetings  of  the  registered  voters  of  the  city  shall 
be  called  by  the  municipal  council  upon  petition  of  at  least  five  hundred 
of  the  said  voters,  which  petition  shall  state  the  purpose  or  purposes  of 
the  meeting.     Such  meeting  shall  be  held  not  later  than  three  weeks  after 


the  filing  of  the  petition  ;  and  notice  thereof  shall  be  given  by  the  munic- 
ipal council  on  the  front  page  of  at  least  one  daily  newspaper  of  the  city, 
not  less  than  three  times  within  two  weeks  after  the  filing  of  said  petition. 
A  presiding  officer  shall  be  chosen  for  said  meeting  from  those  present ; 
and  the  city  clerk  shall  act  as  the  clerk  thereof  and  shall  keep  complete 
records  of  the  proceedings.  If  so  requested  in  said  petition,  or  demanded 
at  said  meeting,  any  city  officer  or  officers  shall  attend  such  meeting,  and 
if  called  upon  so  to  do  shall  place  before  the  meeting  any  facts,  docu- 
ments, or  other  information  relative  to  the  subject-matter  of  said  petition. 

The  city  clerk  or  a  justice  of  the  peace  shall  administer  an  oath  to  any 
person  or  persons  called  upon  to  testify  before  said  meeting,  as  aforesaid, 
including  any  city  officer  or  officers,  whose  presence  has  been  requested 
or  demanded,  and  any  person  so  placed  under  oath  who  shall  wilfully 
give  false  testimony  before  said  meeting  upon  any  point  material  to  the 
matter  of  inquiry  shall  be  guilty  of  perjury,  and  shall  be  subject  to  the 
provisions  of  chapter  two  hundred  and  ten  of  the  Revised  Laws  and  any 
amendment  thereof.  But  no  person  shall  be  required  to  give  testimony 
tending  to  incriminate  himself. 

The  provisions  of  sections  eight  and  nine  of  chapter  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  of  the  Revised  Laws,  and  any  amendments  thereof,  shall  be 
applicable  to  the  conduct  and  procedure  at  said  hearing.  If  for  any 
reason  any  officer  or  officers  are  unable  to  attend  said  meeting,  or  if  it  be 
impossible  to  produce  at  said  meeting  the  facts,  documents,  or  other 
information  requested  as  aforesaid,  the  meeting'  may  be  adjourned  until 
such  time  as  said  officer  or  officers  can  attend,  or  said  facts,  documents 
or  other  information  can  be  furnished.  A  copy  of  the  records  of  said 
meeting  and  of  any  adjournment  thereof  shall  be  transmitted  by  the  city 
clerk  to  the  municipal  council  at  its  next  meeting. 

Abolishment  of  Present  Government. 
Sect.  23.  At  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  of  the  first  Monday  of 
January,  in  the  year  nineteen  hundred  and  eleven,  the  city  council,  board 
of  mayor  and  aldermen,  board  of  aldermen  and  common  council,  board 
of  public  works  and  public  water  board  shall  be  abolished  ;  the  terms  of 
office  which  the  present  mayor,  aldermen,  common  councilmen,  mem- 
bers of  the  board  of  public  works,  school  committee  and  public  water 
board  are  now  serving  shall  terminate ;  and,  except  as  is  otherwise  pro- 
vided in  this  act,  all  the  present  powers  and  duties,  under  any  general  or 
special  acts,  of  the  mayor,  board  of  mayor  and  aldermen,  board  of 
aldermen,  city  council,  common  council,  board  of  public  works  and 
public  water  board  shall  devolve  upon  and  be  exercised  and  performed 
by  the  municipal  council.     At  the  aforesaid  time  the  board  of  assessors 


lO 

shall  become  an  appointive  board,  and  shall  be  subject  to  all  the  provi- 
sions of  this  act  relative  to  appointive  boards.  The  municipal  council 
shall  be  the  judge  of  the  election  of  its  own  members. 

Sect.  24.  The  municipal  council  elected  as  aforesaid  shall  meet  at 
ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  on  the  first  Monday  of  January  in  each  year; 
and  the  members  of  said  municipal  council,  vs^hose  terms  of  office  then 
begin  shall  severally  make  oath  before  the  city  clerk,  or  a  justice  of  the 
peace,  to  perform  faithfully  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices.  The 
municipal  council  shall  thereupon  be  organized  by  the  choice  of  a  presi- 
dent, who  shall  be  called  the  president  of  the  municipal  council  and  shall 
hold  his  office  during  its  pleasure.  The  president  of  the  municipal 
council  shall  be  some  member  thereof  other  than  the  mayor.  The 
organization  of  the  municipal  council  shall  take  place  as  aforesaid,  not- 
withstanding the  absence,  death,  refusal  to  serve,  or  non-election  of  the 
mayor,  or  one  or  more  of  the  four  other  members  :  provided^  that  at 
least  three  of  the  persons  entitled  to  be  members  of  the  municipal  council 
are  present  and  make  oath  as  aforesaid.  Any  person  entitled  to  make 
the  aforesaid  oath,  who  was  not  present  at  the  time  fixed  therefor,  may 
make  oath  at  any  time  thereafter. 

Meetings  of  Municipal  Council. 
Sect.  25.  The  municipal  council  shall  fix  suitable  times  for  its 
regular  meetings.  The  mayor,  the  president  of  the  municipal  council, 
or  any  two  members  thereof,  may,  at  any  time,  call  a  special  meeting, 
by  causing  a  written  notice,  stating  the  time  of  holding  such  meeting 
and  signed  by  the  person  or  persons  calling  the  same,  to  be  delivered  in 
hand  to  each  member,  or  left  at  his  usual  dwelling  place,  at  least  six 
hours  before  the  time  of  such  meeting.  Meetings  of  the  municipal 
council  may  also  be  held  at  any  time  when  all  the  members  are  present 
and  consent  thereto. 

Sect.  26.  A  majority  of  the  members  of  the  municipal  council  shall 
constitute  a  quorum  ;  its  meetings  shall  be  public,  and  the  mayor,  if 
present,  shall  preside  and  shall  have  the  right  to  vote.  In  the  absence 
of  the  mayor,  the  president  of  the  municipal  council  shall  preside,  and  in 
the  absence  of  both,  a  chairman  pro  tempore  shall  be  chosen.  The  city 
clerk  shall  be,  ex  officio,  clerk  of  the  municipal  council,  and  shall  keep 
records  of  its  proceedings ;  but  in  case'  of  his  temporary  absence,  or  in 
case  of  a  vacancy  in  the  office,  the  municipal  council  may  elect  by  ballot 
a  temporary  clerk  who  shall  be  sworn  to  the  faithful  discharge  of  his 
duties  and  may  act  as  clerk  of  the  municipal  council  until  a  city  clerk  is 
chosen  and  qualified.  All  final  votes  of  the  municipal  council  involving 
the  expenditure  of  fifty  dollars  or  over  shall  be  by  yeas  and  nays  and 


1 1 

shall  be  entered  on  the  records.  It  shall  vote  by  yeas  and  nays  when 
that  is  practicable,  and  on  the  request  of  one  member  any  vote  shall  be 
by  yeas  and  nays  and  shall  be  entered  upon  the  records.  The  affirmative 
vote  of  at  least  three  members  shall  be  necessary  for  the  passage  of  any 
order,  ordinance,  resolution  or  vote. 

Powers  of  the  Municipal  Council. 
Sect.  37^  The  municipal  council  shall  have  the  power  to  do,  except 
as  is  otherwise  provided  in  this  act,  without  the  approval  of  the  mayor, 
all  things  which  the  city  council,  board  of  aldermen,  common  council 
and  public  water  board  or  board  of  public  works  can  now  do  with  such 
approval.  The  municipal  council  shall  determine  the  policies  to  be  pur- 
sued and  the  work  to  be  undertaken  in  each  department,  but  each  com- 
missioner shall  have  full  power  to  carry  out  the  policies  or  have  the  work 
performed  in  his  department,  as  directed  by  the  municipal  council.  Any 
notes,  bonds  or  scrip  which  said  city  is  authorized  to  issue  shall  be 
signed  by  its  treasurer  and  countersigned  by  a  majority  of  the  municipal 
council. 

Sect.  28.  The  municipal  council  shall  have  full  supervision  of  the 
erection,  alteration  and  repair  of  all  public  buildings,  including  school 
buildings,  except  repairs  and  alterations  of  school  buildings,  for 
which  provision  is  made  in  the  annual  appropriation,  and  except  as  is 
otherwise  provided  in  chapter  one  hundred  and  seventy-eight  of  the  acts 
of  the  year  nineteen  hundred  and  nine.  No  department  of  the  city  and 
no  corporation  or  person,  shall  at  any  time,  open,  dig  up  or  otherwise 
obstruct  any  way  or  sidewalk,  without  the  consent  of  the  municipal 
council  in  writing  previously  obtained,  except  in  case  of  an  emergency. 

Sect.  29.  The  public  librar)-'  of  the  city  shall  be  under  the  exclusive 
management  and  control  of  the  municipal  council,  which  shall  have  the 
power  to  name  the  trustees  and  to  remove  them  for  cause.  The  munic- 
ipal council  may  increase  or  diminish  the  number  of  trustees  and  make 
such  rules  and  regulations  concerning  the  public  library  as  it  may  deem 
expedient. 

Publicity  for  Contracts. 

Sect.  30.  Neither  the  municipal  council  nor  the  school  committee 
shall  make  or  pass  any  order,  resolution,  or  vote  appropriating  money  in 
excess  of  five  hundred  dollars,  or  making  or  authorizing  the  making  of 
any  contract  involving  a  liability  on  the  part  of  the  city  in  excess  of  five 
hundred  dollars,  unless  the  same  is  proposed  in  writing  and  notice  is 
given  by  the  city  clerk  in  at  least  one  daily  newspaper  of  the  city,  not 
less  than  one  week  before  its  passage,  except  an  order,  resolution  or  vote 


12 

for  the  immediate  preservation  of  the  public  peace,  health  or  safety, 
which  contains  a  statement  of  its  urgency  and  is  passed  by  a  four-fifths 
vote ;  and  such  notice  shall  be  given  as  aforesaid  upon  the  request  of 
said  municipal  council  or  of  the  school  committee. 

Sect.  31.  When  the  municipal  council  shall  pass  any  measure  or  an 
amendment  or  repeal  of  any  measure,  such  measure,  amendment  or 
repeal  so  passed  shall,  except  as  is  otherwise  provided  in  this  act,  take 
effect  at  the  expiration  of  ten  days  from  its  passage  :  provided^  however,^ 
that  if  there  be  a  time  therein  specified  when  it  shall  take  effect,  and 
such  time  be  more  than  ten  days  after  its  passage,  such  measure,  amend- 
ment or  repeal  shall,  except  as  is  otherwise  provided  in  this  act,  take 
effect  at  the  time  so  specified  therein. 

Sect.  32.  No  measure  passed  by  the  municipal  council  or  by  the 
voters,  as"  provided  in  this  act,  shall  require  the  approval  of  any  court 
or  of  the  attorney-general,  or  shall  be  required  to  be  published  in  order 
to  become  effective,  unless  otherwise  provided  in  this  act. 

Sect.  33.  Upon  vote  of  the  municipal  council  the  mayor  shall  sign, 
seal,  execute  and  deliver  in  behalf  of  the  city  deeds  and  leases  of  land 
sold  or  leased  by  the  city,  and  other  deeds,  agreements,  contracts,  leases, 
indentures,  assurances,  and  instruments  on  behalf  of  the  city,  except  as 
is  otherwise  provided  herein.  No  part  of  the  common  shall  be  let  or 
sold. 

Sect.  34.  The  mayor  shall  have  no  power  of  veto,  and  no  measure 
which  the  municipal  council  shall  make  or  pass  shall  be  presented  to  him 
for,  or  shall  require,  his  approval  in  order  to  be  effective. 

Sect.  35.  Each  of  the  five  commissioners  provided  for  in  section 
four  of  this  act  shall  annually  submit  to  the  municipal  council  in  the 
month  of  January  detailed  estimates  of  the  amounts  deemed  necessary 
for  his  respective  department  for  the  financial  year,  which  shall  begin  on 
the  first  day  of  January.  No  sum  appropriated  for  a  specific  purpose 
shall  be  expended  for  any  other  purpose,  and  no  expenditure  shall  be 
made  or  liability  incurred  by  or  in  behalf  of  the  city  until  the  municipal 
council  has  duly  voted  an  appropriation  sufficient  to  meet  such  expendi- 
ture or  liability,  together  with  all  prior  unpaid  liabilities  which  are  pay- 
able therefrom,  except  that  after  the  expiration  of  the  financial  year  and 
before  the  fifteenth  day  of  March,  upon  vote  of  the  municipal  council, 
liabilities  payable  out  of  the  regular  appropriation  may  be  incurred  to  an 
amount  not  exceeding  one-fifth  of  the  total  appropriation  made  for 
similar  purposes  in  the  preceding  year.     At  any  time  the  unexpended 


13 

balance  of  any  sum  appropriated  for  a  special  purpose  and  not  further 
required  for  such  purpose  may  be  transferred  to  another  account  by  vote 
of  the  municipal  council,  but  no  money  raised  by  loan  shall  be  trans- 
ferred to  any  appropriation  from  income  or  taxes.  Nothing  herein  con- 
tained shall  be  taken  to  prohibit  the  payment  at  any  time  of  executions 
against  the  city.  This  section  shall  not  apply  to  appropriations  and  ex- 
penditures of  the  school  committee,  which  shall  continue  to  be  governed 
by  chapter  one  hundred  and  seventy-eight  of  the  acts  of  the  year  nine- 
teen hundred  and  nine. 

Sect.  36.  No  officer  of  said  city,  except  in  case  of  extreme  emer- 
gency involving  the  health  or  safety  of  the  people  or  their  property, 
shall  expend  intentionally,  in  any  fiscal  year,  any  sum  in  excess  of  the 
appropriation  therefor  duly  made  in  accordance  with  law,  and  any 
officer  who  shall  violate  this  provision  shall  be  punished  by  a  fine  not 
exceeding  one  thousand  dollars,  or  by  imprisonment  for  not  more  than 
one  year,  or  by  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment. 

Sect.  37.  All  loans  issued  by  the  city  after  the  passage  of  this  act 
shall  be  made  payable  in  annual  instalments  in  the  manner  authorized 
by  section  thirteen  of  chapter  twenty-seven  of  the  Revised  Laws,  as 
amended  by  section  one  of  chapter  three  hundred  and  forty-one  of  the 
acts  of  the  year  nineteen  hundred  and  eight.  All  bonds  shall  be  offered 
for  sale  in  such  a  manner  that  the  effect  of  the  premiums,  if  any,  shall 
be  to  reduce  the  total  amount  of  bonds  issued. 


Monthly  Statements  to  be  Published. 
Sect.  38.  The  commissioner  of  finance  shall  each  month  have 
printed  in  pamphlet  form  a  detailed  itemized  statement  of  all  cash 
receipts  and  expenditures  of  the  city  during  the  preceding  month  and  of 
all  bills  and  accounts  owed  by  the  city  at  the  end  of  the  preceding 
month,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  show  the  gross  monthly  revenue  and 
expense  of  each  department,  and  shall  furnish  copies  thereof  to  the 
public  library,  to  the  daily  newspapers  published  in  said  city,  and  to 
persons  who  shall  apply  therefor  at  the  office  of  the  city  clerk.  At  the 
end  of  the  municipal  year  he  shall  cause  a  complete  examination  of  all 
books  and  accounts  of  the  city  to  be  made  by  competent  accountants, 
and  shall  publish  the  result  of  such  examination  in  the  manner  above  pro- 
vided for  the  publication  of  monthly  statements.  The  provisions  of  this 
section  shall  apply  to  the  school  department  of  the  city,  and  the  school 
committee  shall  furnish  the  commissioner  of  finance  with  such  informa- 
tion, facts,  figures  and  data  as  may  be  necessary  to  carry  out  the  pro- 
visions of  this  section  so  far  as  it  applies  to  the  school  department. 


H 

Criminal  Offence  to  Participate  in  Contracts. 
Sect.  39.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  a  member  of  the  municipal 
council  or  school  committee  or  for  any  officer  or  employee  of  the  city 
directly  or  indirectly  to  make  a  contract  with  the  city,  or  to  receive  any 
commission,  discount,  bonus,  gift,  contribution  or  reward  from,  or  any 
share  in  the  profits  of,  any  person  or  corporation  making  or  performing 
such  a  contract,  unless  such  member,  officer,  or  employee  immediately 
upon  learning  of  the  existence  of  such  contract  or  that  such  contract  is 
proposed  shall  notify  in  writing  the  municipal  council  or  school  commit- 
tee of  such  contract  and  shall  abstain  from  doing  any  official  act  on 
behalf  of  the  city  in  reference  thereto.  In  case  such  interest  exists  on  the 
part  of  an  officer  whose  duty  it  is  to  make  such  a  contract  on  behalf  of 
the  city,  the  contract  may  be  made  by  another  officer  of  the  city,  duly 
authorized  thereto  by  the  mayor,  or  if  the  mayor  has  such  interest,  by 
the  commissioner  of  finance ;  except,  however,  that  when  a  contractor 
with  the  city  is  a  corporation  or  voluntary  association,  the  ownership  of 
less  than  five  per  cent,  of  the  stock  or  shares  actually  issued  shall  not  be 
considered  as  being  an  interest  in  the  contract  within  the  meaning  of  this 
act,  and  such  ownership  shall  not  affect  the  validity  of  the  contract 
unless  the  owner  of  such  stock  or  shares  is  also  an  officer  or  agent  of  the 
corporation  or  association  or  solicits  or  takes  part  in  the  making  of  the 
contract.  A  violation  of  any  provision  of  this  section  shall  render  the 
contract  in  respect  to  which  such  violation  occurs  voidable  at  the  option 
of  the  city.  Any  person  violating  the  provisions  of  this  section  shall  be 
punished  by  a  fine  of  not  more  than  one  thousand  dollars,  or  by  imprison- 
ment for  not  more  than  one  year,  or  by  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment. 

Administrative  Officers. 
Sect.  40.  There  shall  be  the  following  administrative  officers,  who 
shall  perform  the  duties  prescribed  by  law  for  them,  respectively,  and 
such  further  duties,  not  inconsistent  with  the  nature  of  their  respective 
offices  and  with  general  law,  as  the  municipal  council  may  prescribe, 
except  as  is  otherwise  provided  herein ;  a  city  clerk,  a  city  treasurer,  a 
collector  of  taxes,  a  city  auditor,  a  purchasing  agent,  a  board  of  over- 
seers of  the  poor  consisting  of  six  persons,  a  city  engineer,  a  city  physi- 
cian, a  board  of  health  consisting  of  three  persons  of  whom  the  city 
physician  shall  be  one,  a  city  solicitor,  a  board  of  park  commissioners 
consisting  of  five  persons,  a  board  of  sinking  fund  commissioners  con- 
sisting of  three  persons,  a  board  of  assessors  consisting  of  three  persons, 
seven  assistant  assessors  and  a  board  of  trustees  of  the  public  library 
consisting  of  seven  persons.  The  mayor  shall  be  ex  officio,  chairman 
and  a  member  of  the  board  of  the  overseers  of  the  poor. 


15 

Departments. 

Sect.  41.  The  administration  of  all  affairs  of  the  city  shall  be 
divided  into  five  departments,  to  wit:  —  Department  of  public  safety, 
department  of  finance,  department  of  streets  and  highways,  department 
of  water  and  water  works,  and  department  of  public  property ;  and  said 
departments  are  defined  as  follows  :  — 

The  department  of  public  safety  shall  include  the  following  sub- 
departments  and  all  boards  and  offices  connected  therewith,  to  wit  : 
police,  fire,  electrical,  health,  poor,  legal,  claims,  weights  and  measures 
and  license  commission. 

The  department  of  finance  shall  include  the  following  sub-depart- 
ments and  all  boards  and  oflices  connected  therewith,  to  wit :  treas- 
ury, auditing,  purchasing,  assessing,  sinking  funds,  tax  collection, 
registration  of  voters  and  city  clerk. 

The  department  of  streets  and  highways  shall  include  the  following 
sub-departments  and  all  boards  and  oflJices  connected  therewith,  to  wit : 
highways  and  other  ways,  street  lighting,  street  watering,  sewers  and 
drains  and  engineering.  The  commissioner  of  streets  and  highways, 
except  as  is  herein  otherwise  provided,  shall  have  exclusively  the  powers 
of,  and  be  subject  to  the  liabilities  and  penalties  imposed  by  law  on,  sur- 
veyors of  highways. 

The  department  of  water  and  water  works  shall  include  all  boards 
and  offices  connected  with  the  water  supply  of  the  city. 

The  department  of  public  property  shall  include  the  following  sub- 
departments  and  all  boards  and  offices  connected  therewith,  to  wit : 
buildings,  parks,  public  grounds  and  cemeteries. 

Every  official  or  board  having  to  do  with  the  affairs  of  the  city,  with 
the  exception  of  such  as  pertain  to  the  school  committee,  shall  be 
included  in  one  of  the  above  five  departments,  and  if  the  assignment  to  a 
department  is  not  made  hereunder,  the  municipal  council  shall  by  ordi- 
nance assign  such  office,  offices,  board  or  boards  to  the  department  best 
adapted  to  include  the  same. 

Sect.  42.  The  municipal  council,  subject  to  the  provisions  of  section 
forty-four,  shall  have  the  power  to  appoint,  suspend  or  remove  the  fol- 
lowing offices,  to  wit :  the  city  clerk,  city  treasurer,  collector  of  taxes, 
city  auditor,  city  solicitor,  purchasing  agent,  assessors,  sinking  fund  com- 
missioners, and  trustees  of  the  public  library. 

Sect.  43.  The  commissioner  of  public  safety,  commissioner  of 
finance,  commissioner  of  streets  and  highways,  commissioner  of  water 
and  water  works,  and  commissioner  of  public  property  shall  be  the 
administrative  heads  of  their  respective  departments,  and,  except  as  is 
otherwise  provided  herein,  shall  have  the  power  to  appoint,  suspend  or 


i6 

remove  any  officer,  officers,  board  or  boards  in  their  respective  depart- 
ments, subject  to  the  provisions  of  section  forty-four  and  the  law^s  of  the 
commonw^ealth. 

Sect.  44.  Appointments  to  any  office,  offices,  board  or  boards 
established  by  this  act  or  by  city  ordinance,  except  foremen  and  day 
laborers  and  such  offices  as  pertain  to  the  school  committee,  shall  be 
subject  to  the  following  provisions,  to  vv^it :  —  Two  weeks  preceding  the 
appointment  to  such  an  office,  offices,  board  or  boards  a  statement  of  the 
position  or  positions  to  be  filled  shall  be  published  in  at  least  one  daily 
newspaper  of  the  city  under  the  signature  or  signatures  of  the  commis- 
sioner or  commissioners  empowered  to  appoint,  and  he  or  they  shall 
therein  request  any  candidate  or  candidates  for  said  position  or  positions 
to  submit  his  or  their  candidacy  in  writing  to  the  commissioner  or  com- 
missioners aforesaid.  Not  less  than  two  nor  more  than  four  days  prior 
to  said  appointment  the  said  commissioner  or  commissioners  shall  cause 
to  be  published  on  the  front  page  of  at  least  one  daily  newspaper  of  the 
city  a  list  of  the  names  of  all  candidates  who  have  made  written  appli- 
cation as  aforesaid ;  but  nothing  herein  contained  shall  prevent  a  com- 
missioner from  appointing  to  office  a  person  who  has  not  submitted  his 
candidacy  in  writing  as  aforesaid.  All  removals  from  appointive  offices 
shall  be  accompanied  by  a  statement  of  the  reason  or  reasons  therefor 
under  the  signature  of  the  commissioner  removing  the  officer  or  officers, 
and  a  copy  of  said  statement  shall  be  filed  in  the  office  of  the  city  clerk. 
This  section  shall  not  apply  to  officers  or  employees  now  classified  under 
civil  service  laws. 

Sect.  45.  All  officers  whether  heretofore  elected  or  appointed,  or 
appointed  hereunder,  shall,  except  as  is  otherwise  provided  herein,  con- 
tinue in  office  until  their  successors  are  appointed  and  qualified.  Except 
as  is  otherwise  provided  herein  the  term  of  office  of  any  officer,  officers, 
board  or  boards,  for  which  provision  is  herein  made  shall  not  be  fixed, 
but  shall  continue  indefinitely,  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  act  regard- 
ing appointments,  suspensions  and  removals. 

Record  of  Employees. 
Sect.  46.  The  commissioner  in  charge  of  each  department  shall 
cause  to  be  kept  in  his  department  a  record,  subject  to  public  inspection, 
of  all  persons  appointed  and  employed  therein  and  of  all  persons  sus- 
pended or  removed,  and,  in  case  of  suspension  or  removal,  of  the 
grounds  therefor. 

Provision  for  Changes. 
Sect.  47.     The  municipal  council  may  from  time  to  time,  subject  to 
the  provisions  of  this  act  and  in  accordance  with  general  laws,  establish 


^7 

additional  offices  and  boards,  assign  them  to  the  proper  departments, 
and  determine  the  number  and  duties  of  the  incumbents  thereof ;  and  for 
such  purposes  it  may  delegate  to  such  offices  and  boards  any  part  of  the 
administrative  powers  given  by  this  charter  to  the  commissioners  herein- 
before mentioned.  The  municipal  council  may  also  from  time  to  time 
consolidate  appointive  offices  and  boards,  separate  and  distribute  the 
pow^ers  and  duties  of  such  as  have  already  been  established,  increase  or 
diminish  the  number  of  persons  vs^ho  shall  perform  the  duties  of  any 
appointive  office  or  board,  or  abolish  any  appointive  office  or  board 
subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  act  and  in  accordance  with  general  laws. 
Sect.  48.  All  administrative  offices  shall  be  sworn  to  the  faithful 
discharge  of  their  respective  duties,  and  certificates  of  their  oaths  shall 
be  made  and  kept  in  the  office  of  the  city  clerk.  All  administrative 
boards  and  offices  shall  keep  a  record  of  their  official  transactions,  and 
such  records  shall  be  open  to  public  inspection. 

Bonds. 

Sect.  49.  The  municipal  council  shall  require  the  city  treasurer,  the 
collector  of  taxes,  the  city  auditor  and  the  purchasing  agent  to  give 
bonds,  with  such  surety  or  sureties  as  it  shall  deem  proper,  for  the  faith- 
ful discharge  of  their  respective  duties,  and  may  require  any  other 
municipal  officer  intrusted  with  the  receipt,  care  or  disbursement  of 
money  to  give  such  bond.  No  city  money  shall  be  deposited  in  any 
bank  or  trust  company  of  which  any  member  of  the  board  of  sinking 
fund  commissioners  or  the  treasurer  of  said  city  is  an  officer,  director  or 
agent. 

Sect.  50.  Every  administrative  board,  through  its  chairman  or  a 
member  designated  by  the  board,  and  every  officer  in  charge  of  a 
department,  may  appear  before  the  municipal  council,  and  at  the 
request  of  said  municipal  council  shall  appear  before  it,  and  give  infor- 
mation in  relation  to  anything  connected  with  the  discharge  of  the  duties 
of  such  board  or  office ;  and  the  officer  who  appears  shall  have  the  right 
to  speak  upon  all  matters  under  consideration  relating  to  his  department. 

Purchasing  Department. 
Sect.  51.  The  purchasing  department  shall  consist  of  a  purchasing 
agent  and  such  assistants  as  the  municipal  council  may  from  time  to 
time  deem  necessary.  The  purchasing  agent  shall  purchase  all  supplies 
for  the  city,  except  in  case  of  an  emergency ;  but  all  purchases  or  con- 
tracts for  purchase  exceeding  twenty-five  dollars  in  amount  shall  be 
based  upon  competition,  and  no  purchases  or  contracts  for  purchase 
shall  be  made  involving  the  expenditure  of  more  than  twenty-five  dollars 
for  any  one  class  of  supplies  in  any  month,  except  by  competiton.     The 


i8 

purchasing  agent  shall  purchase  all  supplies  for  the  school  department  in 
accordance  with  instructions  given  to  him  by  the  school  committee.  A 
record  shall  be  kept  by  this  department  of  the  prices  paid  for  all  sup- 
plies, which,  shall  be  open  to  the  inspection  of  any  citizen.  The  salaries 
in  this  department  shall  be  fixed  by  the  municipal  council. 

Salaries. 

Sect.  52.  The  salary  of  the  mayor  shall  be  thirty-five  hundred 
dollars  per  annum,  and  the  salary  of  each  of  the  remaining  four  mem- 
bers of  the  municipal  council  shall  be  three  thousand  dollars  per  annum. 
These  salaries  shall  be  payable  in  equal  monthly  installments. 

Sect.  53.  No  member  of  the  municipal  council  shall  during  the  term 
for  which  he  was  chosen  hold  any  other  ofiice  the  salary  of  which  is 
payable  by  the  city. 

Sect.  54.  The  municipal  council  shall  establish  by  ordinance  the 
salary  or  compensation  of  every  appointive  officer;  but  after  the  first 
municipal  year  succeeding  the  acceptance  of  this  act  no  ordinance 
changing  any  such  salary  or  compensation  shall  take  effect  until  the 
municipal  year  succeeding  that  in  which  the  ordinance  is  passed. 

Schools. 

Sect.  55.  The  management  and  control  of  the  public  schools  of  the 
city  shall  be  vested  in  the  school  committee,  consisting  of  the  mayor  ex 
oflScio  and  four  other  members  elected  in  accordance  with  the  provisions 
of  this  act.  Three  of  its  members  shall  constitute  a  quorum.  The 
mayor,  when  present,  shall  preside,  and  its  meetings  shall  be  public. 
All  final  votes  of  the  school  committee  involving  the  expenditure  of  fifty 
dollars  or  over  shall  be  by  yeas  and  nays  and  shall  be  entered  on  the 
records.  The  committee  shall  vote  by  yeas  and  nays,  when  that  is 
practicable,  and  on  request  of  one  member  any  vote  shall  be  by  yeas  and 
nays,  and  shall  be  entered  upon  the  records.  The  aflHrmative  vote  of  at 
least  three  members  shall  be  necessary  for  the  passage  of  any  order, 
resolution  or  vote. 

Sect.  56.  The  school  committee  shall  meet  for  organization  on  the 
Tuesday  next  after  the  first  Monday  in  January  in  each  year.  The 
committee  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  election  and  qualifications  of  its 
members  and  shall  determine  the  rules  for  its  proceedings,  unless  it  is 
otherwise  provided  herein.  The  members  of  the  school  committee  shall 
be  sworn  to  the  faithful  discharge  of  their  duties. 

Sect.  57.  The  school  committee  may  elect  a  superintendent  of 
schools  and  may  appoint  such  other  subordinate  officers  and  assistants, 
including  janitors  of  school  buildings,  as  it  may  deem  necessary  for  the 


19 

proper  discharge  of  its  duties  and  the  conduct  of  its  business ;  it  shall 
define  their  terms  of  sen'ice  and  their  duties  and  shall  fix  their  compen- 
sation, and  may  suspend  or  remove  them  at  pleasure.  No  member  of 
the  school  committee,  except  the  mayor,  shall,  during  the  term  for  which 
he  is  elected,  hold  any  other  office  or  position  the  salary  or  compensation 
for  which  is  payable  out  of  the  city  treasury. 

Sect.  58.  The  school  committee,  in  addition  to  the  powers  and 
duties  pertaining  by  law  to  school  committees,  shall  have  power  to  pro- 
vide, when  they  are  necessary,  temporary  accommodations  for  school 
purposes,  and  shall  have  the  control  of  all  school  buildings  and  of  the 
grounds  connected  therewith,  and  the  power  to  make  all  repairs,  the 
expenditures  for  which  are  made  from  the  regular  appropriation  for  the 
shcool  department,  except  as  is  otherwise  provided  herein. 

Sect.  59.  No  site  for  a  school  building  shall  be  acquired  by  said 
city  unless  the  approval  of  the  site  by  the  school  committee  is  first 
obtained.  No  plans  for  the  construction  of  or  alterations  in  a  school 
building  shall  be  accepted,  and  no  work  shall  be  begun  on  the  construc- 
tion or  alteration  of  a  school  building,  unless  the  approval  of  the  school 
committee  therefor  is  first  obtained.  Nothing  herein  contained  shall 
require  such  approval  for  the  making  of  ordinary  repairs. 

Vacancies. 
Sect.  60.  If  there  be  a  vacancy,  by  failure  to  elect  or  otherwise,  in 
the  municipal  council,  the  council  shall,  by- its  remaining  members,  call 
a  special  city  election  to  fill  the  vacancy  or  vacancies  for  the  unexpired 
term  or  terms ;  except  that  if  such  vacancy  or  vacancies  occur  less  than 
four  months  prior  to  the  annual  city  election,  the  municipal  council 
shall,  by  its  remaining  members,  fill  such  vacancy  or  vacancies  for  the 
unexpired  term  or  terms  respectively.  A  person  elected  to  fill  any  such 
vacancy  shall,  before  entering  upon  the  duties  of  his  office,  take  oath 
before  the^city  clerk  or  a  justice  of  the  peace  faithfully  to  perform  the 
same. 

Sect.  61.  Upon  the  death,  resignation  or  absence  of  the  mayor,  or 
upon  his  inability  to  perform  the  duties  of  his  office,  the  president  of  the 

nnabV  from  pm^  r^n<;e  to  r»Ar^orm  cp^rj  rliitipc,  ffipv  9^ nil  be  nerfonri'^d 
hv  <;nrTi  mnnnhf^r  of  the  mnnir'ml  ronnrH  a<;  it  trjqv.  from  time  to  time. 
p^f^rf.  until  fhf'  mnvor  or  nre<:idpnt  of  the  mnnicinal  ronncil  is  nble  to 
attend  to  c^id  HntiV<:.  or  until  the  vacancv  is  filled,  n<;  hereinbefore  nro- 
virlerl.  The  ner^on  unon  Tvhom  snrh  diitie<;  devolve  <;hall  be  cp^^ed 
*' Actino"  Mavor,"  and.  except  ns  is  otherwise  nrovided  in  this  act.  shall 
possess  the  powers  of  mayor,  but  only  in  matters  not  admttting  of  delay. 


20 

Sect.  62.  If  there  is  a  vacancy  in  the  school  committee,  by  failure 
to  elect  or  otherwise,  the  mayor  shall  call  a  joint  convention  of  the 
municipal  council  and  the  school  committee,  at  which  the  mayor,  if 
present,  shall  preside,  and  the  vacancy  shall,  by  vote  of  a  majority  of  all 
the  members  of  the  two  bodies,  be  filled  by  the  election  of  a  member  to 
serve  for  the  remainder  of  the  municipal  year.  At  the  next  annual 
municipal  election  thereafter  a  member  shall  be  elected  by  the  qualified 
voters  of  the  city,  to  serve  for  the  remainder  of  the  unexpired  term  of  the 
member  whose  office  is  vacant. 

Recall. 

Sect.  63.  The  holder  of  any  elective  office  may  be  removed  at  any 
time  by  the  voters  qualified  to  vote  at  city  elections,  and  the  procedure 
to  effect  his  removal  shall  be  as  follows  :  — 

A  petition  signed  by  a  number  of  such  voters  equal  to  at  least  twenty- 
five  per  cent,  of  the  aggregate  number  of  votes  cast  for  candidates  for 
mayor  at  the  last  preceding  annual  election  at  which  a  mayor  was 
elected,  demanding  an  election  of  a  successor  to  the  person  sought  to  be 
removed,  shall  be  filed  in  the  office  of  the  city  clerk.  Such  petition 
shall  contain  a  general  statement  of  the  grounds  upon  which  the  removal 
is  sought.  It  need  not  be  on  one  paper,  but  may  consist  of  several 
distinct  papers,  each  containing  the  said  demand  and  substantially  upon 
the  same  grounds,  and  all  papers  containing  the  said  demand  and 
statement  which,  in  any  one  day,  shall  be  filed  at  the  office  of  the  city 
clerk,  shall  be  deemed  parts  of  the  same  petition.  Every  signer  shall 
add  to  his  signature  his  place  of  residence,  giving  the  street  and  street 
number,  if  any.  One  signer  of  every  such  paper  shall  make  oath  upon 
his  information  and  belief,  before  a  notary  public,  or  a  justice  of  the 
peace,  that  the  statements  therein  made  are  true,  and  that  each  signa- 
ture to  such  paper  is  a  genuine  signature  of  the  person  whose  name  it 
purports  to  be.  Within  ten  days  after  the  date  of  the  filing  of  such 
petition,  the  city  clerk,  with  the  assistance  of  the  registrars  of  voters, 
shall  examine  the  petition  to  ascertain  whether  or  not  it  is  signed  by  the 
requisite  number  of  voters,  as  above  prescribed,  and  shall  attach  to  said 
petition  his  certificate,  showing  the  result  of  his  examination.  If,  from 
the  city  clerk's  certificate  the  petition  appears  not  to  be  signed  by  the 
requisite  number  of  voters,  it  may  be  supplemented,  within  ten  days 
after  the  date  of  such  certificate,  by  other  papers,  signed  and  sworn  to 
as  aforesaid,  and  all  other  papers  containing  a  like  demand  and  state- 
ment, and  signed  and  sworn  to  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  deemed  supple- 
mental to  the  original  petition.  The  city  clerk  shall  vvithin  ten  days 
after  the  expiration  of  the  time  allowed  for  filing  the  supplementary 
petition  make  a  like  examination  of  such  petition,  if  any  is  filed,  and 


shall  attach  thereto  a  new  certificate,  and,  if  it  appears  from  such  dew 
certificate  that  the  petition  is  still  insufficient  as  to  the  number  of  signefs 
as  aforesaid  it  shall  be  returned  to  the  person  or  persons  filing  the  same^ 
without  prejudice,  however,  to  the  filing  of  a  new  petition  to  the  same 
effect.  If  the  petition,  as  originally  filed  or  as  supplemented,  shall  be 
certified  by  the  city  clerk  to  be  sufficient^  he  shall  present  the  same  to  the 
municipal  council  without  delays  and  the  municipal  council  shall  call  the 
election  so  demanded,  and  shall  fix  a  date  for  holding  the  same^  whidh 
shall  be  not  less  than  sixty  nor  more  than  seventy  days  after  the  date 
when  the  petition  Was  presented  by  the  city  clerk  to  the  municipal 
council.  The  municipal  council  shall  make  or  cause  to  be  made  all 
arrangements  for  holding  such  election,  and  the  same  shall  be  held  dnd 
conducted,  returns  thereof  made  and  the  results  thereof  declared  in  all 
respects  as  in  the  case  of  other  city  elections.  The  successor  of  any 
person  removed  shall  hold  office  during  the  unexpired  term  of  his 
predecessor. 

Any  person  sought  to  be  removed  may  be  a  candidate  at  such  election  ^ 
and  unless  he  requests  otherwise  in  writing  the  city  clerk  shall  place  his 
name  on  the  official  ballots  without  nomination.  The  person  receiving 
the  highest  number  of  votes  shall  be  declared  elected.  If  some  person 
other  than  the  incumbent  receives  the  highest  number  of  votes,  the 
incumbent  shall  thereupon  be  deemed  to  be  removed  from  office.  In 
case  a  person,  other  than  the  incumbent,  receiving  the  highest  number  of 
votes  shall  fail  to  make  oath  before  the  city  clerk  or  a  justice  of  the 
peace,  within  thirty  days  after  his  election,  faithfully  to  perform  the 
duties  of  the  office,  the  office  shall  be  deemed  vacant.  If  the  incumbent 
receives  the  highest  number  of  votes,  he  shall  continue  in  office  until  the 
end  of  the  term  which  he  was  serving  at  the  time  of  such  election, 
unless  sooner  removed  therefrom  by  new  and  like  proceedings.  The 
name  of  no  candidate  other  than  the  person  sought  to  be  removed  shall 
be  printed  on  the  official  ballots  to  be  used  at  such  election,  unless  such 
candidates  be  nominated  as  hereinbefore  provided  at  a  preliminary 
election. 

Initiative. 

Sect.  64.  If  a  petition,  signed  by  a  number  of  the  voters  of  said 
city,  qualified  to  vote  at  city  elections,  equal  to  at  least  twenty-five  per 
cent,  of  the  aggregate  number  of  votes  cast  for  the  candidates  for  mayor 
at  the  last  preceding  annual  city  election  at  which  a  mayor  was  elected^ 
and  requesting  the  municipal  council  to  pass  any  measure  therein  set 
forth  or  referred  to,  shall  be  filed  in  the  office  of  the  city  clerk,  the 
municipal  council,  provided  said  measure  be  one  v/hich  it  has  a  legal 
right  to  pass,  shall, 


22 

(a)  Pass  said  measure  without  alteration,  within  twenty  days  after 
the  attachment  of  the  city  clerk's  certificate  of  sufficiency  to  such  petition, 
or 

(6)  Forthwith,  after  the  expiration  of  twenty  days  after  the  attach- 
ment of  the  said  certificate  of  sufficiency  of  the  petition,  call  a  special 
election,  unless  an  annual  city  election  is  held  within  ninety  days  after 
the  attachment  of  the  certificate  of  sufficiency ;  and  at  such  special 
election,  or  annual  city  election,  if  one  is  so  to  be  held,  submit  said 
measure  without  alteration  to  the  voters  of  the  city  qualified  as  aforesaid. 
The  date  of  said  election  shall  be  fixed  as  provided  by  section  sixty- 
three. 

If,  however,  a  petition  like  the  above  described  petition,  and  signed 
by  a  number  of  qualified  voters  equal  to  at  least  ten  per  cent,  but  less 
than  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the  aggregate  number  of  votes  cast  as 
aforesaid,  is  filed  as  aforesaid  the  municipal  council  shall 

(c)  Pass  the  measure  therein  set  forth  or  referred  to,  without  altera- 
tion, within  twenty  days  after  such  attachment  of  the  certificate  of 
sufficiency,  or 

(d)  Submit  the  same  to  the  qualified  voters  of  the  city  at  the  next 
annual  city  election. 

The  votes  upon  the  said  measure  at  an  annual  city  election  or  at  a 
special  election  shall  be  taken  by  ballot  in  answer  to  the  question, 
**  Shall  the  measure  (stating  the  nature  of  the  same)  be  passed?  "  which 
shall  be  printed  on  the  ballots  after  the  list  of  candidates,  if  there  be 
any.  If  a  majority  of  the  qualified  voters  voting  on  the  proposed  meas- 
ure shall  vote  in  favor  thereof,  it  shall  thereupon  become  a  valid  and 
binding  measure  of  the  city,  and  no  such  measure  passed  as  aforesaid,  by 
the  municipal  council,  upon  petition  as  aforesaid,  or  which  shall  be 
adopted  as  aforesaid  at  any  such  annual  city  election  or  special  election, 
shall  be  repealed  or  amended  except  by  the  qualified  voters  of  the  city 
at  an  annual  city  election  or  special  election.  Any  number  of  measures 
requested  by  petition,  as  aforesaid,  may  be  voted  upon  at  the  same 
election,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  section.  The  munic- 
ipal council  may  submit  a  proposition  for  the  repeal  of  any  such  measure, 
or  for  amendment  thereof,  to  be  voted  upon  at  any  succeeding  annual 
city  election  ;  and  should  such  proposition  as  submitted  receive  a  majority 
of  the  votes  cast  thereon  at  such  election,  the  measure  shall  thereby  be 
repealed  or  amended  accordingly.  The  vote  upon  such  repeal  or 
amendment  at  the  annual  city  election  shall  be  taken  by  ballot  in  answer 
to  the  question,  ''  Shall  the  measure  (stating  the  nature  of  the  same)  be 
repealed  or  amended  ? "  which  shall  be  printed  on  the  ballots  after  the 
list  of  candidates,  if    there    be  any.     Whenever    any  such    measure  or 


proposition  is  required  by  this  act  to  be  submitted  at  any  election  as 
aforesaid,  the  city  clerk  shall  cause  the  same  to  be  published  once  in 
each  of  the  daily  newspapers  published  in  said  city ;  such  publication  to 
be  not  more  than  twenty  nor  less  than  five  days  before  the  submission  of 
the  measure  or  proposition  to  be  voted  on.  Petitions  under  the  provi- 
sions of  this  section  may  consist  of  one  or  more  distinct  papers.  In  each 
of  such  papers  the  measure,  the  passage  of  which  is  requested,  shall  be 
set  forth  or  referred  to,  and  all  such  papers  filed  in  any  one  day  in  the 
office  of  the  city  clerk  shall  be  deemed  to  be  parts  of  the  same  petition. 
Such  petitions  shall  be  signed,  sworn  to  as  to  signatures,  examined,  re- 
examined, presented  to  the  municipal  council,  shall  have  the  city  clerk 
certificate  of  sufficiency  or  insufficiency  attached  thereto,  and  may  be 
supplemented,  in  the  same  manner  as  petitions  filed  under  sixty-three. 
Any  measure,  passed  under  the  provisions  of  this  section  by  the  munici- 
pal council,  or  by  the  voters,  may  prescribe  such  penalty  for  its  viola- 
tion as  the  municipal  council,  after  this  act  takes  effect,  shall  have  a 
right  to  affix  to  a  like  measure  for  a  breach  thereof. 

Referendum. 
Sect.  65.  If,  during  the  ten  days  next  following  the  passage  of  any 
measure  by  the  municipal  council,  a  petition,  signed  by  a  number  of 
voters  of  said  city,  registered  to  vote  at  city  elections,  equal  to  at  least 
twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the  aggregate  number  of  votes  cast  for  candidates 
for  mayor  at  the  last  preceding  annual  city  election  at  which  a  mayor 
was  elected,  and  protesting  against  the  passage  of  such  measure  shall  be 
filed  in  the  office  of  the  city  clerk,  such  measure  shall  be  suspended  from 
going  into  operation,  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  municipal  council  to 
reconsider  the  same,  and  if  it  is  not  entirely  repealed  the  municipal 
council  shall  submit  it,  as  is  provided  in  sub-division  (^)  of  section  sixty- 
four  to  the  registered  voters  of  the  city,  and  the  said  measure  shall  not 
go  into  effect  or  become  operative  unless  a  majority  of  the  voters,  quali- 
fied as  aforesaid,  voting  on  the  same  shall  vote  in  favor  thereof.  The 
vote  upon  such  a  measure  at  an  annual  city  election  or  special  election 
shall  be  taken  by  ballot  in  answer  to  the  question,  ''  Shall  the  measure 
(stating  the  nature  of  the  same)  take  effect?"  which  shall  be  printed  on 
the  ballot  after  the  list  of  candidates,  if  there  be  any.  Petitions  under 
the  provisions  of  this  section  may  consist  of  one  or  more  distinct  papers. 
In  each  of  such  papers  the  measure,  the  passage  of  which  is  protested, 
shall  be  set  forth  or  referred  to,  and  all  such  papers  filed  in  any  one  day 
shall  be  deemed  to  be  parts  of  the  same  petition.  Such  petitions  shall 
be  signed,  sworn  to  as  to  signatures,  examined,  re-examined,  presented 
to  the  municipal  council,  shall  have  the  city  clerk's  certificate  of  suffi- 


ciency  or  insufficiency  attached  thereto,  and  may  be  supplemented  in  tl 
same  manner  as  petitions  filed  under  section  sixty-three. 

Sect.  66.     It  shall  not  be  necessary  for  the  validity  of  any  petition 
statement  provided  for  or  required  by  the  provisions  of  this  act  that  ai 
signer  thereof  add  to  his  signature  any  residence  other  than  the  name 
the  street,  and  street  number,  if  there  be  any,  at  which  he  resides  at  tl 
time  of  signing. 

Sect.  67.  All  acts  and  parts  of  acts  inconsistent  herewith  are  herel 
repealed ;  provided^  however^  that  this  repeal  shall  not  affect  any 
done,  or  any  right  accruing  or  accrued  or  established,  or  any  suit  or  prj 
ceeding  begun  in  any  civil  case  before  the  time  when  such  appeal  takj 
effect,  and  that  no  offences  committed  and  no  penalties  or  forfeiturl 
inGurred  under  the  acts  or  parts  of  acts  hereby  repealed  shall  be  affectJ 
by  such  repeal ;  and  provided  also^  that  all  persons  who,  at  the  tii 
when  said  repeal  takes  effect  shall  hold  any  office  under  said  acts  shj 
continue  to  hold  the  same,  except  as  is  otherwise  provided  herein,  aij 
provided  also^  that  all  by-laws  and  ordinances  of  the  City  of  Lynn 
force  at  the  time  when  said  repeal  takes  effect,  and  not  inconsistent  wij 
the  provisions  of  this  act,  shall  continue  in  force  until  the  same 
repealed  or  amended,  and  all  officers  elected  under  such  by-laws  aj 
ordinances  shall  continue  in  office,  except  as  is  otherwise  provided  herei 

Acceptance  by  Voters. 
Sect.  68.     If  Part  I,  of  this  act  be  accepted,  it  shall  take  effect  up| 
its  acceptance  for  the  annual  city  election  to  be  held  on  the  second  Tu^ 
day  of  December  in  the  year  nineteen  hundred  and  ten,  for  the  preliJ 
inary  election  for  nominations,  to  be  held,  under  the  provisions  of  tl 
Part,  on  the  third  Tuesday  preceding  the  aforesaid  annual  city  electi( 
for  the  statements  of  candidates  and  petitions  accompanying  stateme^ 
of  candidates  to  be  filed  by  persons  whose  names  are  to  be  printed 
the  official  ballots  to  be  used  at  such  preliminary  election,  and  for 
things  which  appertain  and  relate  to  said  annual  city  election,  preli] 
inary  election,    statements    of    candidates    and   petitions    accompany! 
statements  of  candidates ;   and,  it  shall  take  effect  for  all  other  purpo| 
at  ten  o^clock  in  the  forenoon  on  the  first  Monday  of  January,  in 
year  nineteen  hundred  and  eleven. 


"iyl 


S\ 


-Z> 


m. 


YC  09408 


298623 


J5   /DV'/ 

./te 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


